Histopathological placental lesions in mild gestational hyperglycemic and diabetic women

Objective: To investigate and compare the incidence of histopathological placental lesions in mild gestational hyperglycemia, gestational diabetes and overt diabetes at term and preterm gestation.Research design and methods: One-hundred-and-thirty-one placental samples were collected from Diabetes mellitus (DM) positive screened patients. Two diagnostic tests, glycemic profile and 100 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in parallel identified 4 groups normoglycemic, mild gestational hyperglycemia (MGH), gestational DM (GDM) or overt DM (DM). Placental tissue specimens and sections from 4 groups were obtained by uniform random sampling and stained with hematoxylin-eosin.Results: Placentas from MGH group presented 17 types of histopathological change and higher rates of syncytial nodes and endarteritis. GDM placentas presented only nine types of histopathological change, high rates of dysmaturity, low rates of calcification and no syncytial nodes. Overt DM placentas showed 22 types of histopathological change, 21 of which were present in the preterm period. There were histopathological similarities between MGH and DM placentas, but the former exhibited a higher incidence of endarteritis, which has been described as a post-mortem phenomenon.Conclusion: Our results confirmed that the distinct placental changes associated with DM and MGH depend on gestational period during which the diabetic insult occurs. It may reasonably be inferred that subclinical maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy, as showed in MGH group, is responsible for increased placental endarteritis, a postmortem lesion in the live fetus

Histopathological placental lesions in mild gestational hyperglycemic and diabetic women

Abstract Objective To investigate and compare the incidence of histopathological placental lesions in mild gestational hyperglycemia, gestational diabetes and overt diabetes at term and preterm gestation. Research design and methods One-hundred-and-thirty-one placental samples were collected from Diabetes mellitus (DM) positive screened patients. Two diagnostic tests, glycemic profile and 100 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in parallel identified 4 groups normoglycemic, mild gestational hyperglycemia (MGH), gestational DM (GDM) or overt DM (DM). Placental tissue specimens and sections from 4 groups were obtained by uniform random sampling and stained with hematoxylin-eosin. Results Placentas from MGH group presented 17 types of histopathological change and higher rates of syncytial nodes and endarteritis. GDM placentas presented only nine types of histopathological change, high rates of dysmaturity, low rates of calcification and no syncytial nodes. Overt DM placentas showed 22 types of histopathological change, 21 of which were present in the preterm period. There were histopathological similarities between MGH and DM placentas, but the former exhibited a higher incidence of endarteritis, which has been described as a "post-mortem" phenomenon. Conclusion Our results confirmed that the distinct placental changes associated with DM and MGH depend on gestational period during which the diabetic insult occurs. It may reasonably be inferred that subclinical maternal hyperglycemia during pregnancy, as showed in MGH group, is responsible for increased placental endarteritis, a postmortem lesion in the live fetus.</p

The safe motherhood referral system to reduce cesarean sections and perinatal mortality - a cross-sectional study [1995-2006]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2000, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set targets for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health by 2015.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To evaluate the results of a new education and referral system for antenatal/intrapartum care as a strategy to reduce the rates of Cesarean sections (C-sections) and maternal/perinatal mortality.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Design</it>: Cross-sectional study. <it>Setting</it>: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Botucatu Medical School, Sao Paulo State University/UNESP, Brazil. <it>Population</it>: 27,387 delivering women and 27,827 offspring. <it>Data collection</it>: maternal and perinatal data between 1995 and 2006 at the major level III and level II hospitals in Botucatu, Brazil following initiation of a safe motherhood education and referral system. <it>Main outcome measures</it>: Yearly rates of C-sections, maternal (/100,000 LB) and perinatal (/1000 births) mortality rates at both hospitals. <it>Data analysis</it>: Simple linear regression models were adjusted to estimate the referral system's annual effects on the total number of deliveries, C-section and perinatal mortality ratios in the two hospitals. The linear regression were assessed by residual analysis (Shapiro-Wilk test) and the influence of possible conflicting observations was evaluated by a diagnostic test (Leverage), with <it>p </it>< 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over the time period evaluated, the overall C-section rate was 37.3%, there were 30 maternal deaths (maternal mortality ratio = 109.5/100,000 LB) and 660 perinatal deaths (perinatal mortality rate = 23.7/1000 births). The C-section rate decreased from 46.5% to 23.4% at the level II hospital while remaining unchanged at the level III hospital. The perinatal mortality rate decreased from 9.71 to 1.66/1000 births and from 60.8 to 39.6/1000 births at the level II and level III hospital, respectively. Maternal mortality ratios were 16.3/100,000 LB and 185.1/100,000 LB at the level II and level III hospitals. There was a shift from direct to indirect causes of maternal mortality.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This safe motherhood referral system was a good strategy in reducing perinatal mortality and direct causes of maternal mortality and decreasing the overall rate of C-sections.</p